Star's New Style

The season eight premiere introduced 15
Food Network Star hopefuls and a brand-new setup to the series. For the first time ever, the finalists were hand-picked by three Food Network all-stars, Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay, who mentored their teams throughout the season.

Eating New York

The finalists explored three of New York's most culinarily rich neighborhoods, Manhattan's Lower East Side and Harlem and the Bronx's Little Italy, and cooked up their own versions of local recipes to serve the judges during a bus tour of the city.

Chopped: Stars and Sweets

The finalists were presented with a
Chopped basket full of mystery ingredients. In just 30 minutes, they had to turn pancetta and chocolate, coconut and popcorn, pineapple and pasta and more into winning desserts to serve to
Chopped judges Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy and the network.

Hats Off to Ham

Tasked with transforming a not-too-pretty plate of baked ham into a close-up-ready recipe, Emily presented a glamorous dish that tasted as good as it looked. She went one step further and turned food into wearable fashion by donning a "food fascinator" made out of ham.

Mixed Reactions

While the network appreciated the mature flavors of Nikki's kale smoothie, the children were not won over by it. Little appetites were put off by the leafy vegetable's bitter taste, but Bob Tuschman said he "drank the whole thing."

Iron Chef Surprise

While cooking for the food-court challenge, Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian visited the kitchen to deliver a secret-ingredient twist: One finalist from each team had to incorporate chicken livers in his or her dish.

Challenges With Churros

At Team Giada's food-court fiesta, Linkie attempted a dessert of churros and Mexican cocoa despite her total unfamiliarity with Mexican desserts. The sugared churros turned out skinny and crispy, not full, light and airy like the traditional version, and ended up costing Linkie her place in the competition.

Martita Delivers Dead Air

Martita fell short during a camera challenge in front of members of the press, finishing her presentation with 30 seconds left on the clock. Instead of telling more stores, she stood silently for an uncomfortably long amount of time.

Michele Serves Shells

Though Michele thought she was careful to remove all of the sharp crab shells from her succulent crab cake mixture, pieces of shell remained, and her dish could not be served to the VIP guests at the beach party.

So. Many. Questions.

During his demo, Justin was forced to interact with an unrelenting audience member who interrupted his presentation with shouts of questions. Though his first response to the audience was well received with a laugh, he lost his temper as the barrage of demands continued.

The Most Important 30 Seconds Yet

In the season's very last challenge, the top six finalists had just three takes to compile a 30-second promo for their would-be Food Network show. Though Yvan struggled to find his footing during his taping, he arranged the photos of his family to help him visualize an audience and pulled it together to give a finale-worthy performance.

What the Fans Want

This season's choice of
Star winner came down to your votes, fans. Though the voting period has ended, Martie, Yvan, Michele or Justin will be crowned Food Network's newest personality on Sunday night.